Zim man jailed for elephant tasks

SHARE | Wednesday, 01 March 2017 | By Solomon Tjinyeka

The Maun Magistrate court has jailed a 41 years old Zimbabwean man Elliot Duvza to two years imprisonment and a fine of P10, 000 for unlawful possession of elephant tasks. He was also warned that failure to pay the fine immediately he will get additional three years to his sentence. When delivery verdict on Thursday Maun principal Magistrate Taboka Mopipi indicated that cases of trophy theft are prevalence in the district, hence strict measures have been imposed on those convicted for such cases. The charge sheet indicate that the accused person on or about the 1st day of July 2016 at Gweta village being a person without a certificate of ownership or any reasonable prove of lawful possession had in his possession two pieces of elephant tasks weighing 9, 4 kilogrammes with the value of P15 508.10. The accused was arrested by the police working on a tip–off and was found with the two pieces of elephant tasks were contained in a plastic bag. Furthermore court facts reveal that upon arrest the accused person failed to account as to how he came to possess the trophies without any lawful authorisation. After being arrested in Gweta he was taken to the village police station together with two independent witnesses where he was warned about the charge. During judgement Mopipi indicated that the state prosecution has proven its case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt. She said that there is no dispute that the accused person was indeed the one found in possession of the alleged elephant task and that the accused was aware that they were indeed elephant tasks.